"The Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine

If you are looking for something to read over the upcoming holiday weekend (at least here in the USA it will be a holiday weekend), then look no further than The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. The link goes to a web site that contains the entire text of both parts of Paine's epic book and you can read it there (or print it off) free of charge. Hey, just try to find a better bargain that that!

In The Age of Reason, Paine criticizes Christian doctrines and advocated deism. Whereas I'm reasonable sure that most of the regulars around here know who Thomas Paine is, perhaps others who stumble in here might not, so here is a short synopsis of Paine.

Thomas Paine is one of the founding fathers of the USA. His biggest contribution to the revolution was perhaps the pamphlet he authored (anonymously) in 1776 titled Common Sense, in which he called for the colonies to declare their independence and break away from Great Britain. Later, he also contributed to the French revolution.

Even if you do not know Paine, you may know some of his words. One famous quote attributed to Paine is "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." From the American Crisis, he wrote "These are the times that try men's souls." And there from Common Sense: "That government is best that governs least."

What a better world it would be if we had more men (and women) like Thomas Paine alive today.

Do We Like Personal Attacks or What?

I was going over the 50+ posts I've made to The Serenity of Reason and I noticed a pattern. It seems like the most commented-upon posts are the ones that start as personal attacks. That would be the Ben Stein post and the Chuck Norris post.

I wonder if that is because people want to come to the rescue of the attacked? Or is it because we want to pile on? Probably a tad more of the latter than the former if you read the comments, but there is a smattering of both.

I suppose I'll have to find another asshole to attack if I want to rile up the troops into commenting... any suggestions?

Share Your Religious Persuasion

Please share your current religious ideology by answering this quick poll question. I'm curious as to the make-up of The Serenity of Reason participants. Even if you are just a lurker and do not post comments, I'd be pleased if you'd just click here and answer the poll question:

And, by the way, the comments feed from the Blogger service is broken, so that is why the RECENT COMMENTS box isn't showing the most recent comments. Hopefully, Blogger will correct their service soon, but until then you'll have to snoop around for the newly posted comments.

Hail Holy Jug of Milk, Hallowed be Thy Name!

Larry Craig -- Hypocrite Republican from Idaho?

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho was arrested by a plainclothes police officer investigating complaints of lewd conduct in the men's public restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to a police report cited by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.

Here is another Republican asshole who courts "values voters" and speaks out against gays, while at the same time getting arrested for lewd acts in a restroom. Hmmm... and evidently there are men who claim to have had sex with Senator Craig.

Ahhhh... can you smell it? The sweet, sweet smell of hypocrisy...

Another Rat Scurries Off the Ship

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned on Monday, ending a controversial tenure as chief U.S. law enforcement officer that blemished the administration of President George W. Bush.

Gee, to paraphrase a famous Gonzales quote: "I do not recall remembering a worse attorney general."

Wait-a-minute, I forgot let the e-a-g-l-e soarrrr...

USA Continues to Arm the Whole Fucking Middle East

President Bush plans to sell $20 billion of advanced military hardware to Saudi Arabia and five other Persian Gulf states, and provide more aid to Israel threatens to further destabilize the region and fuel religion-based terrorism.

And loookie here, American Atheists speaks out against it. Those damn atheists, why can't they just shut the fuck up and let all those good, pious religious people destroy our planet?

When will we stop sticking our nose in the business of other nations? Maybe when we curtail our need to stop sucking on those big middle eastern oil titties?